


Liquid Love

by Fire_Bear



Series: OUAP Mystical Week [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Day 6, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, Misunderstandings, OUAPEvent Mystical Week, Potions Accident, Yule Ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 22:56:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13281621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Lance wants to help Keith find the confidence to ask his crush to the Yule Ball. Things don't exactly go according to plan...





	Liquid Love

**Author's Note:**

> This is late again. =/
> 
> Also, technically a potion and not a spell but... *shrug*

Lance slammed his hand down on the Gryffindor table, causing a first year to spill his cereal and Keith to look up. "Keith! Have you asked someone to the Yule Ball yet?" he demanded.

The sixth year Gryffindor gave Lance a pained look. "Do you really need to yell so early in the morning?"

"It's not that early. Classes are about to start," retorted Lance, plopping down on the bench across from him.

"That's still _early_ ," Keith insisted.

"Whatever," the Ravenclaw said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Answer the question."

"No. I haven't." Keith paused to take a sip of orange juice. "You'd be the first to know."

"Urgh, Keith!" Lance cried, slumping forward across the table, making sure to keep his robes out of the pile of buttered toast. "It's only two weeks away! You're running out of time!"

"Well, have  _you_ asked someone?" Keith countered.

Lance straightened and grinned at him. Keith pulled a face in return. "Of course I have," Lance said. "I've asked  _loads_ of people." He grimaced. "No-one's said yes. Some of them have already got partners, of course. I mean, Allura was asked by Shiro pretty much as soon as the Ball was announced. And I didn't bother to ask Shay since I had to ask her to go with Hunk-"

"You didn't need to do that!" came Hunk's voice from behind Lance. Grinning, Lance turned to find their other friends, Hunk and Pidge. Pidge's green robes were rumpled and Lance knew she'd been up all night, working on something or other. Hunk's yellow robes were neat and tidy – and his hair was combed back.

"Oho!" cried Lance, scrambling to his feet in excitement. "Is someone going on a date with Shay?"

Hunk blushed. "Yes," he admitted. "And I was gonna ask her myself when I was with her later."

"She said yes, didn't she?" Lance said, smiling kindly. "You've got nothing to worry about." He turned to Pidge. "You, however – have you got a-"

"If you're going to ask me about the Yule Ball, don't bother. You know I don't want to be asked," said Pidge, narrowing her eyes at Lance.

"Aw, c'mon, Pidge! It'll be fun, I promise."

"Oh, I'll be there. They say Celestina Warbeck might be there."

"No way!" scoffed Lance. "Someone as awesome and famous as  _her_ isn't gonna come back to school for a gig." He rolled his eyes at the very suggestion.

"Well, whatever," said Pidge, shrugging a shoulder. "I'll still be there. But on my own."

"Are you  _sure_ there's no-one you want to go with?" Lance prodded.

"I'm sure I don't want you interfering like you're trying to do with Keith."

"Oh!" Lance exclaimed, turning back to the table. He paused. Keith was nowhere to be seen. Narrowing his eyes, he looked along the length of the table and saw him making his way out of the Great Hall. Heaving a put-upon sigh, Lance hurried after him. Just as he reached the doors, he remembered his bag and stopped, pulling out his wand. "Accio, bag," he said. There was a thumping noise from the Ravenclaw table and then the bag was soaring towards him. He effortlessly caught its strap and slung it over his shoulder.

Once he'd done that, he had to rush to catch up with Keith at the top of the marble stairs. "Wait! Keith!" he cried as he reached him.

Keith sighed. "Lance. What is it now?"

"Do you have someone in mind for the Yule Ball? You're not just fobbing me off, are ya?"

"What-? No." Keith stopped, opening and closing his mouth a few times. His cheeks turned pink which clashed with the red of his robes. "I... I want to ask someone out," Keith told him, keeping his voice down. "But... I can't quite find the right time or the words to do it."

Ignoring the pang of sadness within him – what in Merlin's beard was  _that_ all about? – Lance grinned. "Wait. You actually have a crush? Who is it?"

"I'm not telling  _you_ ," said Keith, rolling his eyes. "You'll just make it worse!"

"Aw, c'mon, Keith! How am I supposed to help you get the girl-"

"Guy," Keith corrected.

"Ah, yeah, sorry, guy. How am I supposed to-?"

"I don't want your help, Lance," Keith interrupted him. "You should just focus on asking out all the girls you have a passing interest in until one of them realises you're her only hope of a date."

Lance's eyes widened and he stepped back. "You don't need to be like  _that_ ," he said, tone sharp.

Despite the fact Keith was biting his lip – the usual sign that he was nervous or knew he was in the wrong – Keith turned away. "Just leave me alone, Lance," he ordered, sounding irritated.

Watching him go, Lance wondered why he'd been so snappy. Hunk appeared beside him and patted him consolingly on the arm. "Sorry, man," he said. "But maybe you shouldn't push it so much? Or, y'know, not insist you know everything? Maybe help from the background?"

"What?" said Lance, looking at Hunk in confusion. "How am I supposed to do that?"

Hunk shrugged a shoulder. "I dunno. But you usually figure something out. Anyways, we better go, Lance. Potions class is downstairs, remember?"

Still puzzling over how he could help Keith without knowing who Keith's crush was, Lance grunted and followed him down. He didn't particularly like Potions but he was naturally good at it, something Keith had once been miffed about. Lance had never considered it particularly helpful against the instant gratification of spells.

However, by the end of the class, Lance had figured out a way to help Keith.

* * *

As soon as Lance and Hunk (who was in his Care of Magical Creatures class) reached the Great Hall for lunch, Lance marched towards the Gryffindor table, face set in determination. The people around Keith noticed and moved away. Only Shiro and Allura stayed where they were, though they moved over to give Lance room. That made Keith look up. His eyes widened almost imperceptibly and his mouth moved. Lance was sure he said ‘oh no’.

“Keith,” said Lance, sitting down beside Shiro. 

“Lance,” Keith began. “I’m sorry about earlier-”

“Never mind _that_ ,” Lance said, waving his hand dismissively. Of course, he _did_ feel a lot happier that Keith had bothered to apologise. A lot of the time, neither of them did, though they both knew they wanted to. “Look,” said Lance. “Are you actually planning on asking your crush out?”

“Crush?” said Allura, her eyes lighting up. “What's this?”

“Yeah, Keith,” said Shiro, raising an eyebrow. “What's this?” He looked far more amused than Lance thought he had any right to be, considering how he’d danced around Allura for years. 

Keith sighed. “I thought I told you to drop it. I'm not gonna tell you who it is till I’ve asked them to the Yule Ball.”

“ _ Really _ ?” said Shiro, his other eyebrow rising.

“Hush, Shiro!” Lance commanded. Turning back to Keith, Lance said, “I don't _need_ to know who it is to help you. I’ve got the solution right here!” And he plunged his hand into his robes and drew out two metal vials. “Oh, oops.” Lance peered at them for a moment before dropping one of them back into his pocket. “Here!” he said and handed it to Keith.

Reluctantly, Keith took it. “What is it?”

“Felix felicis. Or Liquid Luck. Take a couple of drops of this baby and it’ll last you six hours. The whole lot lasts twelve. Don't take too much of it.”

“Okay. But what am I supposed to do with it?” asked Keith. 

“What are you-? Keith. Keith, buddy…” Lance reached over and patted Keith's hand. “This. This is why you're not in Ravenclaw.”

“Oh, shut up,” grumbled Keith. 

“I think Lance means for you to take it and then, with the good luck it will bring, either your crush will ask _you_ or the perfect opportunity to ask _them_ will fall into your lap,” Allura pointed out.

“If you're lucky,” Lance added, “quite literally.”

As Keith blushed at the thought, Shiro turned to Lance with a frown. “I’m fairly sure this contravenes a rule somewhere.”

“And if you _dare_ tell a soul, I’ll make sure one of the professors finds out about your nighttime activities with Allura and where they’ll find you.”

Both Shiro and Allura turned red, Shiro in worse condition than Allura. “How do you know about that?” Shiro hissed, glancing around in a panic.

“I’m a Ravenclaw,” said Lance, smugly. “Knowledge is kind of our thing.” 

“How did you even get this, anyway?” Keith demanded. 

“Professor Smythe gave me it for being the only person to make a perfect Amortentia potion on the first go.” Lance grinned. “I probably should have mentioned the fact that my sister made me help her make a batch years ago.”

“What was she doing with that?” asked Shiro with some concern. 

Lance shuddered. “I didn't ask.”

“I don't want it,” Keith said. “It's yours and _you_ should use it.” He held it out. “Maybe one of the people you've asked will change their mind or something.”

“ No, Keith,” Lance said, pushing his hand away. “I’ll find someone eventually.  _ You  _ need all the luck you can get.”

“Oh, thanks,” Keith replied with a roll of his eyes. He placed the potion on the table. “I don't need it. I can do it myself.”

Lance stared at him. “Well, I don't see much ‘doing’. I mean, if you don't need my help, why don't you go ask him right now.”

Keith turned red. “Don't be so _stupid_!” he snapped.

Flinching at his tone, Lance stared at Keith in surprise. As the Gryffindor continued to glare at him, Lance frowned, annoyed. “Fine. Be like that. Whatever.” He stood.

Wincing, Keith reached out to the Ravenclaw. “Wait, Lance-”

“ Sorry that I can't grace you with my presence for longer,” Lance said, addressing Shiro and Allura. They were both grimacing, probably expecting one of Lance and Keith's famous fights. Lance ignored their expressions and barrelled on. “I need to talk to Pidge, anyway.” Turning back to Keith, Lance looked down his nose at him. “I  _ would _ wish you luck, but you already shoved  _ that  _ back in my face, so.” With that parting shot, Lance grabbed his bag and stalked off, ignoring Keith calling his name despite how much it hurt to walk away.

On the way to the Slytherin table, Lance passed the Hufflepuffs and gave Hunk and Shay a cheerful wave, pushing down his emotions regarding Keith. Hunk sent him a worried look. Before he could excuse himself from his new girlfriend, Lance waved him away. Still seeming unconvinced, Hunk shook his head slightly before Shay caught his attention and he blushed. Grinning at the sight, Lance turned his attention to the Slytherin table. He made a beeline for the pile of books.

“So how's my favourite little Slytherin?” Lance asked loudly as he threw himself down beside Pidge.

Pidge glanced up with narrowed eyes. “Did you just call me ‘little’?” she demanded.

“Maaaaybe,” Lance replied with a shrug. 

Sighing, Pidge set down her quill. “What do you want?”

“What?!” exclaimed Lance. “Why do I need to want something to sit with you?”

“You've not eaten lunch yet.”

Lance blinked. “How do you-?

“You've been arguing with Keith. As usual. Normally, you go eat with Hunk as soon as one or the other of you storms off. You only come _here_ at lunchtime if you want something.”

“Huh.” Lance thought through the past few lunches when he'd sat with Keith to begin with and realised that Pidge was right. Why in Dumbledore's Army did that _always_ happen?

“So are you gonna prank him?” asked Pidge, her eyes glittering almost maliciously. “'Cause I am so down for that.”

“Jeez, Pidge, you are vicious. I pity whoever tries to drag you to the Yule Ball. Speaking of which…” Lance reached into his pocket.

“Oh, no,” Pidge groaned. “I should have known.”

“You really should have,” quipped Lance with a grin.

“Is this why you were arguing this time?”

Ignoring the comment, Lance shook the little vial. “ _This_ is gonna help me figure out who you should ask to the Ball.”

“I don't-”

“Just take it!” he ordered her. “Open it up and take a sniff - but don't drink it, whatever you do!”

“What is it?” asked Pidge, suspiciously. She nevertheless wriggled the stopper, tugging at it to get it free.

“Amortentia. Brewed by yours truly. It’s so perfect, I won some Felix felicis. But, if you smell it, we can find out what you like the most.”

Pidge stopped and flexed her hand, wincing. “So what did _you_ smell?”

“Leather,” Lance answered immediately. The memory of the heady scent filled him and he shuddered. “Broom polish, y’know, the sort Keith uses. And something sweet. Like vanilla. Or something close. I know I’ve smelled that last one before somewhere,” he muttered to himself. 

“Huh,” said Pidge. She seemed about to say more but unstoppered the vial instead. Once it was open, she hesitated. Then, with Lance watching intently, she took a big sniff. There was a pause. Then she sniffed a few more times. “I don't really smell anything,” she said, slowly.

“ What?” Lance took the vial from her and took a sniff himself. When the scent he knew was unique to him  _ didn't  _ fill his nose, he almost dropped the bottle. Instead, he held it out to Pidge and she stoppered it, surveying his worried expression. “I… I mixed up the vials…”

“Er… what?”

“I gave Keith the wrong potion!” exclaimed Lance in a panic. “He's gonna kill me!”

“Are you telling me that Keith Kogane has a vial of Amortentia and that he's probably gonna drink it?” asked Pidge, incredulously. “What does he _think_ it is?”

“Felix felicis! It's supposed to help him ask out his crush!”

Apparently, Pidge couldn't help herself because she started laughing. “Well, the potion he’s got will certainly help him do that!” she managed to squeeze out between loud, snorting guffaws.

Making a panicked, annoyed sound, Lance turned to make sure Keith was still at the table. Hopefully, Shiro and Allura wouldn't be there because he could get in serious trouble for sneaking the Amortentia out of his Potions class. Scanning the Gryffindor table, he spotted Shiro and Allura sitting where they had been. There didn't seem to be any sign of Keith.

Lance's heart stopped.

“Oh, You-Know-Who’s balls!” Lance exclaimed loudly and scrambled from his seat. A few first year Slytherins dropped their forks in shock. Lance ignored them and pointed at Pidge. “Keep this safe,” he told her and gave her the vial. “And don't drink any of it.”

“Shouldn't you take some?” Pidge suggested, grinning wickedly. “Maybe it’ll stop Keith drinking the Amortentia. 

“I don't even _want_ to know what would happen if we both drank the potions,” Lance told her before sprinting across the room. A Ravenclaw prefect told him to stop but Lance ignored them as he skidded to a halt at the Gryffindor table. He ran along it and was soon standing beside Shiro and Allura. Keith wasn’t in sight.

“Lance?” Allura said, blinking at him. “What's wrong?”

“Where's Keith?!” he gasped.

“He's gone to class,” said Shiro. 

“ _ What _ ?! Already?!”

“You were late out of Potions,” Shiro informed him. “It's later than you think.”

“Oh, Umbridge’s frilly knickers!” Lance cried. He ran his eyes over the table, hoping to find the vial where he'd last seen it.

Rolling his eyes at Lance's inventive swearing, Shiro said, “Maybe if you’d stuck around, you would've known.”

“Forget that,” said Lance, shortly. “Did Keith take the potion? Wait. Did he _drink_ it?”

Allura and Shiro looked at each other. “He refused to take a few drops,” Allura said, slowly. Far too slowly for the dire situation but Lance forced himself to be patient. “But we managed to convince him to take it with him, in case he changed his mind.”

“ _Damn_ ,” Lance muttered to himself. He took a breath. If you see him before me and he’s not acting odd, tell him _not_ to drink it under any circumstances. And do _not_ give it to anyone else to drink. If he's being weird… take him to Professor Smythe. He’ll know what to do!”

“What's this all about, Lance?” Shiro asked.

“No time to explain!” Lance exclaimed. “I have to get to Keith's Ancient Runes class and get him to give me the potion - and all before my Divination class at the other side of the castle!” And Lance ran off.

Bursting through the doors of the Great Hall made several second years squeal in surprise. Their catcalls followed him up the marble staircase as he took them two at a time. It was only when he was halfway to Keith's classroom that he realised that he'd left his bag with Pidge. He hoped she would bring it with her as she was in his next class.

Groups of students passed him by, many of them yelling angrily as he knocked books out of arms or snapped bag straps. With barely a glance behind him, Lance pulled out his wand and waved it behind him, barely muttering the repairing spells as he loped along. By the time he reached the right floor, he was panting. He almost didn't hear the bell ring over his breathing when he paused for a moment, a stitch in his side. The noise prompted him to move and he rounded the corner just as Professor Antok finished ushering his students into his classroom.

"Wait!" Lance shouted, speeding up.

The professor waited for Lance to reach him before speaking. "Yes?" he said.

"I need to speak to Keith Kogane!" Lance explained, urgently.

"Hm. And it can't wait until _after_ class?" Antok said.

"No! It's important!"

Antok didn't seem moved by the declaration. "I'm sure it's not as important as you think." He turned from Lance and entered the room.

"Wait! Please!" Lance rushed to the doorway and peered through. He couldn't see his friend so he called out to him. "Keith! Don't dri-!" And Antok shut the door in his face. Lance stared at it in dismay. Had Keith heard him? Would he do what he'd said?

For a second, Lance thought that he should go to the owlery and send Keith a message that way. Then he remembered that Keith was in a class so it was unlikely that he'd take the potion, anyway. All Lance had to do was run here after class and stop him when he was leaving. Remembering his own lesson, Lance took off, wide-eyed and in a panic – he was really late and he had a tower to climb...

* * *

Having been admonished for being late, telling Pidge he hadn't caught Keith and enduring her giggling, he'd had to anxiously wait through what felt like an  _age_ of gazing into crystal balls. He still couldn't see anything by the end of it – though, he did think he'd glimpsed a lion, but he blamed that on the fact that he'd been worrying about Keith. Pidge had, for some reason, told Lance that it was sign. Confused, Lance had shook his head and asked her what she could see to stop that thread of conversation.

When they finally climbed down through the trapdoor, Lance's name was called. Turning around in confusion, he gaped to see Keith standing there with a bunch of flowers. And not just any flowers. They looked a lot like roses, the red petals glossy and full. Lance stared at them as everyone flowed around him. He looked up at Keith, saw him smiling and turned to Pidge to find out if the vision was an illusion or really happening.

She was nowhere to be seen.

Lance turned back to Keith. "What're you doing here?" he asked, walking over to him.

"I came to see you," Keith replied, happily. 

"Right... Did you hear me outside your class?"

"Of course I did," Keith said, snorting in amusement. "It was a bit hard not to. I didn't catch the last bit, though."

Eyeing the flowers, Lance felt the sinking feeling intensify. "Did... Did you drink the potion I gave you...?"

"Come on, Lance," said Keith, shaking his head fondly. "It was a gift from you. Of course I drank it. And I've been lucky so far."

Blinking, Lance stared at him. "Huh? What d'ya mean?"

"Well, you know Rolo, right?" 

"Yeah."

"He took one of those Fainting Fancies. I don't know what he was up to but Professor Antok had to levitate him down to the hospital wing. It meant that I could sneak out and find the roses." Keith paused, glanced down at them and back up at Lance and then held them out. "They're for you."

"Oh, no," Lance breathed. "You drank the potion."

"Are... Do you not want these...?" Keith said, a little hesitantly. "Did you want me to come to you straight away?"

Confused, Lance said, "What?" He noticed that Keith still had the flowers held out to him and, after a brief hesitation, Lance gently took them. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, once I'd drunk the potion, I really, really wanted to see you," Keith explained, his eyes flicking between Lance's face and the flowers. "I couldn't concentrate in class because I was wanting to ask you to the Yule Ball-"

" _What_ ?"

Keith laughed and, for some reason, Lance's breath caught. " _You're_ the one I've been wanting to ask to the Yule Ball, silly," he said. "I've wanted to tell you about this" – he placed a hand over his heart – "for  _ages_ . But the Yule Ball is a perfect opportunity. So?"

"So... So what?" asked Lance, weakly. 

"Will you go to the Ball with me?"

Feeling a little trapped, Lance considered his options. If he said 'no', what would Keith do? Would he run away? If he did that, Lance wasn't sure he would be able to convince him to take the antidote. But if he said yes... and if Keith was telling the truth... Would Keith hold him to it?  _Did_ he want to go with Keith? He'd intended to force Keith into dancing with him at least once. And he'd felt... strange... when Keith said he was going to ask someone in particular.

"I..." Lance began.

"Is it not enough?" asked Keith before he could finish.

"What?"

"I know you like to be wooed with flowers and chocolates but I  _really_ wanted to see you. I can go get you some chocolate from Honeydukes."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lance cried, cradling the roses to him as he waved his other hand around. "What are you talking about?!"

"You told me once that you'd want a guy to woo you with flowers and chocolates and a fancy dinner," Keith told him. "I can't give you the dinner right now, but I will."

"How do you remember that?"

"I remember a lot of things you tell me," Keith said, stepping forward. "I remember that you love the ocean. I remember that you told me about all the training you did on your practise broom at home to become a Seeker – before you even got to Hogwarts. I remember that your favourite spell is the Summoning Charm because, apart from the Levitating Charm, it was the first one you learnt to do. I remember your face the day it rained while we were at Care of Magical Creatures and the way you danced on the way back to the castle. I remember the day you tried to find the Giant Squid with the Bubblehead Charm – that was the day I thought I was going to lose you. I cried so much when you were lying on the bed in the hospital wing. When you woke up and asked me if I'd seen the tentacle, I was so relieved and so happy to see your smile again. And I expect I'll remember how beautiful you'll look at the Yule Ball." Keith chuckled. "Not that it'll be hard to forget since you've been beautiful every day for years now."

He stopped talking and Lance suddenly noticed how close they were. If Keith leaned forward a little and he ducked his head... Lance's breathing was shaky. His heart was beating far faster than when he'd asked Nyma and Allura and Florona and even  _Luxia_ to the Yule Ball. Struggling to speak, Lance's mouth opened and closed, at a complete loss for words. Lance wanted to say that he'd go to the Ball with Keith – it occurred to him so suddenly that his eyes widened in surprise, his thoughts whirling.

"Lance?" said Keith. "Are you-?"

"You remember a lot of things," Lance whispered staring at him.

Keith's smile grew. "I do. And that's why you need to meet me after dinner, all right?"

"What?"

"I'm going to get you that chocolate. You can tell me your answer then."

"Wait, Keith, you can't just-"

"Yes, I can, Lance," said Keith. Without any warning or signs that he was about to do it, Keith leaned up and pecked Lance on the cheek. Lance caught the whiff of vanilla and his jaw dropped, his lips parting just enough to form an 'o'. "I love you, Lance," said Keith as he reluctantly stepped away from him. "So I'll get you that chocolate and I'll ask you to the Ball properly."

As Keith walked away, Lance stood frozen, gaping at where he had been. His skin tingled from the gentle touch of Keith's lips. Energy thrummed through his entire body. It felt like it did when he walked out onto the Quidditch pitch or he was praised for mastering a Charm quicker than everyone else or when the four of them broke the rules to have a party in the kitchens with the house-elves. The sort of feeling Lance was addicted to, craved, loved to have running through his veins as he embarked on a challenge.

That was how he knew that his conflicting feelings about Keith – at times, frustration, and at others, joy – weren't just friendly.

"Oh, my gosh," said Lance quietly as the realisation hit him. Then he remembered Keith and the Amortentia and the fact that  _these weren't_ Keith's _feelings_ . Spinning around, he caught sight of Keith at the end of the hallway. "Wait!" he called. "Keith! Get back here! You can't just go off-" He broke off when Keith disappeared from sight. "Dammit," he muttered and rushed after him, feeling a little giddy and light-headed. It made him wonder if he'd accidentally drunk his own love potion.

Reaching the spot where Keith had been before he vanished, Lance's heart sank. Keith had disappeared. He was infuriatingly good at doing that. Lance reckoned it was secret passageways that no-one knew about but Keith always refused to tell him. At one time, he'd been so obsessed with finding out that he'd followed Keith every chance he could, watching him carefully. He never found out his secret but he'd grown to like Keith more than he had beforehand.

"How could I be so  _stupid_ ?" Lance demanded of himself. He was a Ravenclaw.  _He_ was supposed to be the smart one!

And he'd have to be smart  _now_ if he wanted to get Keith back to normal.

* * *

The hump on the one-eyed witch's back finally swung open. Lance's wand was out, pointed at it. Beside him was Pidge who was essentially his second. Hunk and Shiro were at either end of the corridor. Allura was with Professor Smythe, helping him find the antidote among his many potions. Everything was ready when Keith clambered out of the secret passageway to Honeydukes. 

_Well_ , Lance thought,  _the not-so-secret passageway_ .

Keith climbed down the side of the statue. Lance waited: he didn't want to do it just yet. After all, he didn't want to  _hurt_ Keith. Not any more than he was going to. 

Lance took a deep breath through his nose when Keith was finally on the floor. It was time. Swallowing, Lance hoped that he'd actually be able to do the spell without speaking. And he hoped it would be strong enough to work. After all, he wasn't as good at Defence Against the Dark Arts as Keith was. In Duelling Clubs in earlier years, Keith would always disarm him before Lance could get the first syllable out.

Shoving his doubts away, Lance flicked his wand and stunned Keith. 

Apparently, Lance was able to do non-verbal spells in stressful situations. In classes, he had been struggling but, with this, he'd managed it. Keith didn't even draw his wand. He just dropped, face first. Somehow, his hand was thrown out, the box he held landing undamaged beside him.

"Wingardium leviosa," said Pidge beside him. "Locomotor."

Keith was lifted off the floor and began to bob along the corridor. Pidge followed him with Hunk joining her when she reached his area. Lance watched them go, his heart aching. Then he turned to the box and picked it up. He nearly let out a sob when he saw that Keith had bought –  _he'd remembered_ – his favourite Honeydukes chocolates.

"Come on, Lance," said Shiro, sounding sad. "Let's get this fixed."

"Yeah," Lance replied, a little choked. He spun the box in his hands, uncaring of whether the chocolates would be ruined. "It's just," he added as they made their way down to the Potions Master's room. "He's going to hate me."

"No, he won't," Shiro assured him.

Lance scoffed. "I gave him a vial of Amortentia, insisted he drink it, stormed off, let him give me flowers, didn't respond to him asking me to the Ball, witnessed his love confession, kind of forced him to skip class and steal chocolates and stunned him. Why would anyone  _not_ hate me?" Lance sighed. "I'm such an idiot..."

"If you explain the mix-up, I'm sure everything else will work itself out," said Shiro gently, giving Lance's shoulder a squeeze.

"I guess," mumbled Lance with a heavy sigh.

They continued down to the dungeons in silence and were soon in Professor Smythe's study. He stood beside an armchair by the cheerful fire, twirling his moustache. Seated in the chair was Keith who looked like he was sleeping. Pidge, Hunk and Allura stood back, watching the scene unfold. Lance headed towards his favourite professor. 

"I'm so sorry, sir," he murmured, sadly. "I just wanted to help..."

"I know you did, my boy," said Smythe, kindly. His eyes twinkled as he smiled down at Lance. "Perhaps, next time, you'll try not to become so  _involved_ with people's love lives? That's not to say you shouldn't help where you can. Why, I remember one time, when I was a lad, there was this lovely young lady. Blossoming, she was-"

"Professor," said Lance in some exasperation. Smythe's words had cheered him up, though, and he was smiling as he sat on the arm of the chair beside Keith. "Should we get this over with?"

"Ah, yes. Let me just..." Smythe raised his wand and lifted the Stunning spell. 

Keith's eyes fluttered and he slowly opened them, blinking at his surroundings. "What...?" he murmured. Then: "Lance?"

"I'm here," he said, reaching out a hand to him.

His head whipped around and Keith's eyes lit up. "Lance!" Arms wrapped around Lance's waist and, before he could do anything, Lance was pulled into Keith's lap.

"Wai-!  _Keith_ !" Lance protested, squirming in his hold. 

"Lance," breathed Keith, holding the Ravenclaw tightly. 

After a few seconds of trying to free himself, Lance gave up. It would help in the long run, he supposed, if he needed to physically give the potion to the Gryffindor. "Listen. Keith. I'd like you to do something for me."

"What is it? I'll do anything. Can I kiss you?"

Feeling himself flush, Lance shook his head. "Focus, please."

"On you? That's easy."

"Seriou-! Could you jus-!" Lance stopped and took a deep breath. "Please drink this," he said, gesturing to the bottle Smythe was holding out.

"Why?" Keith asked, even as he took it.

"Why, my boy," said Smythe, happily. "This will help you confess your love."

"But I already did that."

"It helps you write poetry," Lance lied without thinking it through. 

"Really?" said Keith, blinking up at him. "Do you want poetry, Lance?"

Lance almost froze. He stared down at Keith, at his earnest expression, at his adoring eyes. His heart felt like it was breaking. Then he pretended he was answering a different question, the one Keith had asked earlier. "Yes," he said, barely breathing.

"Okay, then." With a shrug of a shoulder, Keith downed the bottle. As soon as he'd swallowed, Lance broke free of his one-armed hold and got to his feet, ready to be punched or something equally horrible. Keith blinked, once, twice, three times before his expression changed. His cheeks turned red and he shot up from the seat. "What-?!"

"Keith," said Lance, drawing his attention to him. "Please, listen."

Staring at Lance in horror, Keith said, "What did you  _give_ me?"

"Please, listen!" Lance repeated. "I got the vials mixed up. I didn't mean to give you that-"

Whipping out his wand, Keith prodded Lance in the chest with it. "Tell me,  _right now_ , what that was or I'll  _make_ you tell me," Keith growled.

"Now, now, lad," Smythe began.

His voice made Keith's head whip 'round and he stared at Smythe. Then he spun around, clearly intent on leaving. When he saw their friends, he turned right back to glare at Lance. "Did you bring everyone here so you could  _laugh_ at me? Did you do this just so you could find out who I have a crush on?"

"No! I mean, that's not how Amortentia works-"

" _Amortentia_ ?!" Keith yelled. "You fed me  _Amortentia_ ?!"

"I'm  _sorry_ , Keith. I'm  _sorry_ . Please-"

But Keith didn't appear to be listening. Pocketing his wand, he stormed off, heading for the door. Lance froze, unsure as to what to do. What was the right thing here? Go after him, confess he wanted to go with him to the Ball, confess his feelings? Or leave him to cool off and then risk Keith never speaking to him about it all?

Lance's chest felt tight as he forced himself to take a fortifying breath. He glanced at his friends who smiled at him. Hunk gave him a thumbs up. Nodding to them, Lance rushed after Keith, running as fast as he could in case he lost him. Thankfully, Keith was still in the dungeon corridor and Lance easily caught up to him with his longer legs.

"Keith!" he said, catching his arm. He kept his grip tight when Keith tried to wrench his arm away. "Please, wait."

"Why?" Keith snarled, jerking his arm again. "Let me  _go_ . I wanna go to bed." And, with another sharp tug, Keith broke free. He turned to go.

"I love you," said Lance in a panic.

Stilling, Keith's head turned ever so slightly. "What?" he said, flatly.

"I love you," Lance repeated, feeling a little better that he'd gotten it out. "I never realised before now. The Amortentia, it smells like you. I didn't realise till you... till you... well." He raised his trembling hand and used two fingers to trace the spot Keith had kissed. Keith paled. "And I want you to ask me," Lance added.

"Ask you what?" said Keith, slowly.

Lance grinned at him, hoping he looked more confident than he felt. "Well, I still don't have a date to the Ball..." He raised an eyebrow and waited. Lance knew, if Keith didn't come meet him at this halfway point, then he wouldn't be able to push the matter. After all, if he didn't actually love Lance and it had all been the work of the potion, Keith wouldn't ask him. That would be all the proof Lance needed to confirm that.

Keith turned around fully so that he was facing Lance. His eyes flicked across Lance's face. Nervously, Lance shifted, trying to keep eye contact with him when Keith met them. Finally, Keith took a breath, audible in the silence. "Will you go to the Yule Ball with me, Lance?"

"Yes," said Lance as soon as he stopped speaking.

"Really?" asked Keith, faltering a little.

"Yes."

They stared at each other for a moment. Then, slowly, uncertainly, they moved towards each other. Keith's hands rose to cup Lance's face while Lance's hands found themselves on Keith's hips. He was too scared to move them once they fell there and Lance was relieved when Keith didn't say anything about it. Instead, Keith pulled Lance's face towards him and pressed their lips together. Lance responded by tilting his head to the side slightly and firmly kissing back. Eventually, they parted, Lance feeling a little dazed.

"It's a date, then," said Keith with a small smile.

* * *

**Lucky Bonus**

A few days after their love confession, Keith sat down at the Ravenclaw table for lunch. Lance brightened immediately, grinning at him. "Hey," he said, feeling breathless.

"Hi," said Keith, a little distractedly. "What are Shiro and Allura doing at night?"

Lance almost spit out his orange juice. "What?" he asked. "Why are  _ you _ so interested?"

"I asked them about it – y'know, when you basically threatened them – but Shiro refused to tell me," Keith explained. "And, last night, I saw them leaving the common room when they thought no-one was paying attention. So? What're they up to? And how'd  _ you _ know about it?"

Biting his lip to hold back his laughter, Lance leaned forward. "Okay, but you can't tell anyone."

"Okay," Keith agreed.

"I couldn't get into the Ravenclaw common room at the start of the week – the stupid riddle was about numbers and I'm not as good with those ones as the wordplay ones. Anyways, I decided to go for a walk, thinking it might help me out if I didn't think about it for a while. And I was passing by this classroom when I heard voices. At first, I couldn't figure out who it was. But, as I got closer, I realised it was Shiro and Allura."

"And...?"

"I peeked."

When Lance paused, Keith glowered at him. "I don't care if you're my boyfriend, Lance – I  _ will _ whack you on the arm if you don't hurry up and tell me."

A little flustered at the word ' _ boyfriend _ ', Lance quickly said, "They were dancing!"

"What?" Keith's eyes were wide in surprise. 

Lance laughed. "Apparently, Allura can only lead in that dance we were taught – something to do with helping a friend practise. She can't get the hang of following. And Shiro has two left feet. So they're practising before the Ball."

Instead of laughing as he'd expected, Keith's mouth parted in an 'o'. "That... sounds like a good idea..."

"What are you talking about?"

Keith grimaced. "I can't dance, either."

Tilting his head, eyes dancing with mirth, Lance took hold of one of Keith's hands and drew it towards him. "Don't worry," he told his boyfriend. "I'm an  _ amazing _ dancer – and a gentleman, too." And he pressed a kiss to Keith's knuckles.


End file.
